Sakura Matsuri
Today I went to the Sakura Matsuri at a botanical garden in my area. Sadly, the cherry blossoms were not in bloom - in fact they had withered, in a way. But that didn't spoil the fun. =D
At the main stage where the not-in-bloom trees were, when I arrived at the beginning, there was a rehearsal of a martial arts dance going on. The drums were very loud, and the person with the flute played next to a microphone, so the sound was sometime deafening. Some pics - 1 2 3
Elsewhere in the botanical garden, these women were dancing (to no music). It was very mysterious.
The botanical garden also features a Japanese pond and garden. There's huge coi in this pond! =O Some highlights are: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 There was also a Tea Ceremony rehearsal going on just to the side of the pond.
After the garden, My dad, granny, and I got some bento lunches. 1 2 3 They were delicious. <3
In the visitor's center, there were some examples of Ikebana flower arrangements. They were very beautiful. My personal favorites were: 1 2 3
Finally, we went over to the J-Lounge: an area of J-pop culture, such as manga, anime, music, etc. After checking out the tents, getting a ton of fliers, and staring at Gundam kits, a show began.
The show was Uncle Yo, an anime stand-up comedian. He was brilliant. He sang an FPS version of Caramelldansen, James Cameron's Avatar became a Blizzard joke, Lelouch Lamperouge sang a song only to be interrupted by Light Yamagi, they both got owned by a cupcake, cupcake went Super Saiyan, he commented on some recent events that suggest a battle between Earth and the Moon, he criticized Hetalia, and he finished off by singing the Sailor Moon song with Mario Bueno.
After that fun, Mario Bueno sang various anime openings. One from Durarara!!, one from Code Geass, one from RomeoxJuliet, one from Dragonball Z, and one from Gundam Seed. It was awesome.
Can't forget the cosplayers. Characters from Naruto were the most common thing I saw people dressed as. There was a random dude in all white who wandered around the whole park making clever comments on the surroundings. After Mario Bueno's singing, there was a Iron Cosplay competition (kind of like Iron Chef - you get 20 minutes to dig through fabrics with your team and create a costume), but I didn't stick around for the end.
I also bought a Torchic hat. In fact, I'll wear it to Brickfair. It should help you guys find me. B)
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